Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. took Highland to task Thursday over plans to cut off a major shortcut for area motorists.
McDermott, a former Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission chairman, asked at the NIRPC meeting what role the Indiana Department of Transportation and NIRPC play in disputes between neighboring municipalities over issues like this.
Highland plans to make the temporary closure of 177th Street permanent, which could affect economic development in Hammond, McDermott said.
Emails obtained by the Post-Tribune confirmed that plan.
Highland Clerk-Treasurer Mark Herak reached out to South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Phil Taillon to discuss the $730,000 cost of repaving 177th.
“The road serves no purpose to Highland and is used by truck traffic to service those businesses in the industrial park, which are in Hammond,” Herak wrote. “Since the entrance off Kennedy was narrowed, the trucks cannot use that entrance. The Council wanted to approach you first before either abandoning the street and closing it or approaching the City of Hammond, asking them to maintain,” the email said.
Another email noted that 177th and Cline were closed by the Indiana Department of Transportation during construction of the bridge.
“That entrance does not serve highland and we’re going to petition the state to abandon the road. It’s only in highland about 400 yards and then services those Hammond businesses. If you look, Hammond reduced the entrance off of Kennedy to prohibit truck traffic so they have to use 179th. We approached Scott Miller last year about paving and taking over and he said they didn’t have the money and that section of road is in highland. We approached Phil Tallion and asked the visitors bureau to pay and he said they don’t have the money. So now that the road is closed, we want to permanently close it. The mayor was not happy. Phil said maybe we could (grind down) and put a top coat only,” according to that email.
McDermott said 177th is a popular shortcut to Kennedy Avenue that he doesn’t want closed.
Closing the road could affect economic development in Hammond, McDermott said. “It seems like that’s a role for NIRPC to play.”
If INDOT is involved in the local road project, hopefully, they would coordinate with INDOT, said Adam Parkhouse, director of stakeholder engagement for Northwest Indiana.
“If anything else, NIRPC is happy to be a connector of people,” Portage Mayor Austin Bonta said. He was elected chair of NIRPC at the meeting.
A 2012 NIRPC study on roads mentioned improving and connecting them for regional benefit, NIRPC Executive Ty Warner said.
At the NIRPC meeting, Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer complained about new bridges built under INDOT contracts. Niemeyer, who owns a small trucking company, singled out new bridges on U.S. 41 but said the problem is the same with every new bridge INDOT has built.
Unlike other states, there’s a dip on the approaches at either end of a new bridge. “It is pervasive across the entire state.”
“It’s really weird engineering,” Niemeyer said.
Parkhouse said he has heard similar complaints and would ask INDOT’s engineering team about this.
NIRPC also gave its annual Norman E. Tufford Award, named for its original executive director, to Leigh Morris. His past civic engagement includes being LaPorte’s mayor, chair of both NIRPC and the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, and many other roles in which Morris pushed for regional cooperation.
Additionally, Director of Transportation Tom Vander Woude presented a two-year, $77,495 contract for road safety audits at high-crash locations throughout Northwest Indiana. “Typically, we can do between seven and 10 on an annual basis,” he said.
Results will come in late summer or early fall, at which point local officials can invest local dollars into short-range improvements or seek NIRPC help with funding larger projects.
Parkhouse also stressed safety.
“You’ve probably all started to see the state flower start to bloom, which is the orange barrel along the highways,” he said. Drive carefully in work zones, Parkhouse urged.
Of course, that’s not the only place for caution. “If you break down on the side of the road, it’s a very bad idea to leave your vehicle,” he said.
INDOT is patching potholes the proliferated after multiple freeze/thaw cycles. Call 855-INDOT4U to report potholes or other issues on the roadway.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Freelance reporter Michelle Quinn contributed to this story.
